Ex-Jersey City cop sentenced for off-duty jobs scheme

A former Jersey City police officer was sentenced today to 18 months in prison for his role in an off-duty jobs scheme that included paying bribes to get off-duty work he did not perform, federal authorities announced.

Michael O'Leary, 35, of Jersey City, previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge John Michael Vazquez to one count of conspiracy to commit bribery and was facing up to five years in prison.

Jersey City moves to ax off-duty jobs for cops

JERSEY CITY — Mayor Steve Fulop and Public Safety Director James Shea announced at City Hall today that the city is moving forward with a plan to dismantle a program that allowed cops to work off-duty gigs, angering officers who say Fulop is punishing the entire force for the actions of a handful of bad cops.

SixthBoro wrote: Frozen for 2 years at 37k. They can't even afford to live here!

You mean rookies, not rank and file. This is part of the smoke and mirrors of cop contracts, they can point to their poor underpaid rookies that they threw under the bus in the last contract since they weren't there to vote.

Or how a few years after they actually get that step, they get frozen again?

Okay, i'll bite, how long are they at this next "frozen" step and how much is that pay? Since you seem close to the conversation, I'm interested in seeing the pay scale cause I see many youngish looking cops driving BMWs, Benzs and late model SUVs. Many officers I know from my home town own boats and jetskis and many other toys. How is that possible if the pay is so bad?

Make no mistake, I am not anti cop and I appreciate that it can be a tough job at times...a lot of family and friends are police but the "woe is me" gets old when EVERYONE sees a detail on a job site getting paid time and a half sitting in their civilian cars or standing on a corner texting.

SixthBoro wrote: Frozen for 2 years at 37k. They can't even afford to live here!

You mean rookies, not rank and file. This is part of the smoke and mirrors of cop contracts, they can point to their poor underpaid rookies that they threw under the bus in the last contract since they weren't there to vote.

Or how a few years after they actually get that step, they get frozen again?

SixthBoro wrote: Frozen for 2 years at 37k. They can't even afford to live here!

You mean rookies, not rank and file. This is part of the smoke and mirrors of cop contracts, they can point to their poor underpaid rookies that they threw under the bus in the last contract since they weren't there to vote.

JERSEY CITY -Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop has pledged to put an end to city police officers working off-duty jobs in the wake of a corruption scandal within the department for doing just that.

Fulop made the announcement on Twitter Tuesday. He says that the median income for a Jersey City police officer is about $100,000. He says that some officers were able to make double or triple that amount by working off-duty jobs.

Fulop says that his issue is that corrupt police officers have been defrauding the city by filling out and submitting time sheets for off-duty work that they never actually did.

“We don’t think that the stain that this program has put on the reputation of the city is something that should continue,” Fulop says. “We’re going to eliminate it.”

Eleventh Jersey City cop admits guilt in off-duty jobs scheme

NEWARK — An eleventh Jersey City cop has pleaded guilty to a conspiracy charge as part of a federal probe of the city's police department that brought down a former police chief last month.

Juan Berrios admitted in a federal courthouse in Newark today to accepting more than $34,000 in corrupt payments for off-duty jobs he did not perform. Berrios, 41, faces a maximum of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine for the conspiracy to commit fraud charge.

CatDog wrote:While it's obvious that the overtime / off-duty program needs a rework...Quote:

Of the roughly 120 cops who joined the force since 2016, 27 made more than $45,000 last year counting overtime, city payroll records show. If their off-duty work is included, 29 topped $60,000.

$37k is an astoundingly low number for a police officer, and $45k with overtime is still really low. Maybe the pay scale needs a total rework so that officers start off with higher numbers and don't get crazy raises to the point of making $250k/year eventually.

It does seem awfully low, however they do get nice pensions and/or that "boat check" when they retire from cashing in their hundreds of unused sick days, a common practice among county and city employees. Never understood that one. Paid sick and vacation days at any job I worked were on a "use it or lose it" policy, although one place I left did pay you for unused vacation days when you quit, but there is no way they'd let it build up to require a very large payout.

While it's obvious that the overtime / off-duty program needs a rework...Quote:

Of the roughly 120 cops who joined the force since 2016, 27 made more than $45,000 last year counting overtime, city payroll records show. If their off-duty work is included, 29 topped $60,000.

$37k is an astoundingly low number for a police officer, and $45k with overtime is still really low. Maybe the pay scale needs a total rework so that officers start off with higher numbers and don't get crazy raises to the point of making $250k/year eventually.

If this is true and cops do not work off duty jobs then our water bills should drop. I attended a MUA meeting awhile back when the former director complain that water bills have built in them the costs of hiring the police which is a large expense.

Fulop faces police ire over halting off-duty jobs

Jersey City Mayor Steve Fulop's pledge to end a program that allows cops to make extra cash working off-duty jobs is leading to howls of protest from the city's police force.

The program is under fire thanks to a federal investigation that has led to guilty pleas from 10 people, including a former police chief, Phil Zacche. More cops are expected to be ensnared in the probe.

"For too long the program has been abused with police officers more focused on off-duty work than on-duty work," Fulop said in an email to The Jersey Journal. "The widespread corruption was known by countless officers within the department and the degree of abuse is astonishing."

Ex-Jersey City police chief says he warned city about off-duty jobs scam

Jersey City's public safety director was warned four years ago about potential abuses by cops working off-duty security details at public-housing complexes, according to a letter obtained by The Jersey Journal.

The letter was written in October 2013 by former police chief Robert Cowan, whose successor, Phil Zacche, admitted Friday in federal court that he charged the Jersey City Housing Authority more than $30,000 for security details he did not work at the Marion Gardens public-housing complex.

Fulop: ‘I would not be surprised if the [JCPD] off-duty jobs go away entirely in 2018′

Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop said he “would not be surprised if the off-duty jobs go away entirely in 2018″ as the FBI and U.S. Attorney’s Office continues to probe the local police department.

“We have several tolerance for corruption and more misconduct in the police department. We actively work, and will continue to work, with the FBI, the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office – anything we can to root out … end corruption,” Public Safety Director James Shea said during a small press conference with local media last week.

“We don’t care what rank you are, how long you’ve been on the Jersey City Police Department, whether you’re a quote unquote ‘nice guy:’ if you’re doing it, we will hold you accountable for it. And if that causes anybody to say that affects their morale, maybe they should look for another job.”

MD Khan's alleged actions, detailed in a letter from a city attorney and obtained by The Jersey Journal, mirror those of the officers who have admitted in federal court to taking part in a conspiracy involving the off-duty jobs program. These new accusations surrounding Khan are separate from the federal probe, which has ensnared nine officers.

Two more Jersey City cops admit roles in scheme

Two more Jersey City police officers admitted in federal court yesterday to participating in a bribery scheme that has now ensnared at least nine cops.

Ehab Abdelaziz, 38, and Andrea Fahrenholz, 38, both of Clifton, pleaded guilty in Newark yesterday to one conspiracy count each and admitted they were paid for off-duty jobs they never worked. Abdelaziz admitted to conspiracy to commit bribery and Fahrenholz to conspiracy to commit fraud.

The entire system of requiring off duty cops at construction sites is hardly less than a corrupt shakedown of the construction industry even when they actually show up. In most cities flaggers making a fraction of these cops suffice. Has anyone ever seen the cops posted do anything but bullshit with each other and look at their phones? They rarely direct traffic.

Another Jersey City cop pleads guilty in federal bribery scheme

NEWARK -- A Jersey City cop admitted in federal court yesterday that he bribed another police officer $40,000 so he could get paid for work he did not perform, becoming the sixth man to plead guilty in a wide-ranging bribery scheme involving off-duty jobs for the city's police force.

Michael O'Leary Jr., 35, who joined the force 10 years ago, faces up to five years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine for his participation in the scheme. His lawyer, John Lynch, told The Jersey Journal today that O'Leary's actions represent a "terrible lapse in judgment."

James Cardinali, 38, Christopher Ortega, 37 and Victor Sanchez, 37, each pleaded guilty this morning during back-to-back hearings in a federal courtroom in Newark to conspiracy to commit fraud. They each face up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

The three men are among five ex-cops who have pleaded guilty in the federal probe of the jobs program, which allows officers to work off duty as private security or traffic managers. The five ex-cops have admitted allowing companies to operate worksites without officers present; submitting phony vouchers to get paid for work they never performed; and accepting cash from cops in exchange for their participation in the scheme.

What we know about federal probe of Jersey City police

The Jersey City Police Department was rocked earlier this month by news that 12 officers were stripped of their weapons and put on modified duty, an action the city linked to an ongoing federal probe of the city's off-duty jobs program for cops.

The FBI investigation has been an open secret for months, and cops have been whispering about impending arrests. Sources with knowledge of the probe expect about a dozen arrests within the next month.